Marseille confirm Garcia as new manager
MARSEILLE: Olympique Marseille have appointed former AS Roma coach Rudi Garciaas their new manager on a three-year contract, the Ligue 1 club said on Thursday.
The 52-year-old Garcia replaces Franck Passi, who took charge at Marseille following Michel's sacking in April. Marseille are 12th in the league standings and travel to Parc des Princes on Sunday for the French giant's clash against arch-rivals Paris Saint-Germain.
"Rudi Garcia, 52, has signed a three-year contract. He will take up his role" starting Friday, a Marseille statement read.
The appointment comes just three days after US tycoon Frank McCourt completed his purchase of the Ligue 1 side from Margarita Louis-Dreyfus.
"When I met Rudi, he told me straight away he wanted to win the Champions League," said McCourt, who has vowed to restore Marseille to their former glory.
"I immediately knew he would be the man for the job," added the Boston-born former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Garcia guided Lille to a league and French Cup double in 2011 and was last in charge of Roma before he was sacked in January, having steered the Serie A side to successive second-place finishes behind Juventus.
Roma earlier confirmed they had terminated Garcia's contract by mutual agreement, with the Frenchman still having been tied to the Italian club.
